Major Mac V

Major Mac V (Maclintock V x Majors Tiffany GA) as photographed by April Visel

Major Mac V, a 2012 dark bay stallion, is a son of Maclintock V (Desperado V x Marigold V) and out of Majors Tiffany GA (DS Major Afire x Sabrina GA). Bred by the late Sheila Varian, the blood of Rodania, a desert warrior of great fame, courses through his tail female line.  Rodania was bred by the Ruala tribe of the Anazeh Bedouins and captured by Tais Ibn Sharban of the Saba'ah tribe from Sheikh Sattam Ibn Shalan in 1880. The Blunts eventually purchased the mare from Tais Ibn Sharban and imported Rodania to their Crabbet Park Stud in England, circa 1881.

At first glance, the magnitude of the sire line is intimidating, a genetic chain of unspeakable power, a multi-generational reminder of the significant impact these horses have had, in furthering Sheila Varian's vision into the future, a year at a time, until we find ourselves here, 60 years from when she started:
Major Mac V>Maclintock V>Desperado V>Huckeberry Bey>Bay El Bey>Bay-Abi
However, if you look more closely at the sire line, past Bay-Abi and his sire Errabi, past Arabi Kabir and Image, you will find the name of *Mirage, a sparkling white Saklawi stallion bred by the Saba'ah Bedouin tribe and purchased by King Faisal of Iraq, who gifted the horse to the Italian Ambassador at the time, Giacomo De Martino,  eventually consigning the horse to a Tattersall's auction. In 1923, *Mirage was purchased by Lady Wentworth of Crabbet Stud for use as an outcross stallion, however, she never used him and he was sold to Roger Selby of America.

In all that has been written about *Mirage, we know that he was a beautiful horse, approximately 14.2 hands, 1,000 pounds, with a brilliant white coat and of a fine, classic type, which he maintained even into advanced old age. One of the more interesting comments concerning *Mirage was made by Daniel C. Gainey, within Dr. Ameen Zaher's book, Arabian Horse Breeding and the Arabians of America. He felt that the most correct horses and those closest to his ideal, reflected select Skowronek lines, combined with RAS bloodlines, particularly those horses sired by the stallion, Dahman and out of the mare, Bint Yemama. To which, he recommended adding "a dash" of *Mirage blood, to capture a quality of the movement he observed in the *Mirage offspring and called an "airy way of going". In addition to the sire line,  Major Mac V has crosses to *Mirage through Huckleberry Bey's dam, Taffona and Marigold V (the dam of Maclintock V),  for a total of 5 lines to *Mirage.

What's even more interesting about Major Mac V, now that we understand how much *Mirage blood is bound in his pedigree, are the other bloodlines mentioned by Daniel C. Gainey. Major Mac has multiple lines to Skowronek, primarily through his sons *Raseyn and *Raffles, as well as crosses to Dahman through *Zarife, Bint Yamama through *Fadl and *Roda. On a somewhat related note, it is also interesting to point out that Major Mac V carries additional Egyptian blood in his pedigree, through crosses to*Ibn Moniet el Nefous and *Soufian (sources of Dalal Al Zarka through Moniet el Nefous, as Daniel C. Gainey believed that this particular mare was also important in the creation of his ideal Arabian horse), plus the older Egyptian blood of Gulastra (Astraled x Gulnare) and interestingly,  Gulnare, in a separate cross with the stallion, Rizvan (Ibn Yashmak x Rijma).

Sheila wanted something a little different for Major Mac V and this video, which is the inspiring centerpiece of this blog, also serves as the best way to give a voice to what "different" really meant for Sheila.

"You know what I want for this horse? He doesn't really have to go to the arena. I believe in him. I wanted something that was clean, pure and honest for this horse." - Sheila Varian

Lester Buckley is unique in the world of horses, embracing several disciplines, from colt starting to cutting to dressage. He has trained under some of the most legendary horsemen in the world like Ray Hunt, Willie Richardson and Hannes Muller.  Shaped by a classical foundation that at its core, preserves dignity and in turn, creates empathy for the horse,  Lester Buckley doesn't ask more from the horse, than what the horse is able to give him. In the video, he tells us of a sign that hangs in his barn which says, "Together is a beautiful place to be." You see this spirit of relationship come alive on the screen, as he rides in unity with Major Mac V. Through Lester, Sheila defined what she wanted for Major Mac V. And despite never setting a single hoof in a show ring, Major Mac V has developed quite a worldwide following, as Arabian horse people realize the genetic value that this horse presents, as well as what Major Mac V personally meant to his breeder...she believed in him.

There are many touching moments in this refreshingly honest, short film (you will need some tissues) as man and horse work together and enjoy each other's company.  In these days when we find ourselves so distant from each other, a horse like Major Mac V reminds us, that life can only get better if we all just believe in the power of love, kindness and generosity of spirit. It's not just about us, its about all of us and that, is a beautiful thing to believe in.